


Mandalorian Babywearing

by Lady_Vibeke



Series: Cara Dune & Din Djarin: Tales of Two Space Idiots in Love [46]
Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Bickering, Cute babies, Din is a Quirky Dad, Established Relationship, F/M, Family Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Idiots in Love, Mandalorians Are Weird, Post s02e08, Pregnancy, parenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-18 16:07:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29611944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Vibeke/pseuds/Lady_Vibeke
Summary: “There you are!”She turned around to find Din zigzagging among the crowd with a large box in his hands and a bag hanging from each of his shoulders. Nothing else.No oneelse.Cara froze. “Din,” she said in a calm but very tense tone, meeting his eyes through his visor, “where is Seren?”As nonchalantly as humanly possible, Din turned his left side to her to show her the large bag leaning against his armoured hip. “Right here.”Cara blinked. “Here where?”“Here.”Having both hands busy, Din gave a little nudge with his leg, making the bag wave gently. Cara had a horrifying thought. He couldn't be that dumb. She refused to believe she had married such a huge, kriffingidiot.She brought her hands to her hips with an incredulous frown. “Din Djarin,” she hissed through her teeth, “did you put my baby in abag?”[ Cara and Din run into Boba and Koska two years after Gideon's capture. Everyone has surprises to share. ]
Relationships: Boba Fett/Koska Reeves, Din Djarin/Cara Dune
Series: Cara Dune & Din Djarin: Tales of Two Space Idiots in Love [46]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1709416
Comments: 26
Kudos: 82





	Mandalorian Babywearing

The _Starlighter_ was almost ready for take off. It was much larger than the old _Crest,_ with a proper living area, a spacious fresher packed with any sort of amenities, and a small infirmary that was currently used for storage but would come in handy once they started hunting again, some day. They had no plan to, at the moment: Gideon's bounty had granted them enough credits to live comfortably for the next couple of lives, but, while Din could be convinced to spend his life lazing about the galaxy, Cara was already tired of sitting around all day. Not that she had much of a choice: her body was still recovering and someone else's life depended entirely on her.

She sighed to herself, thinking back nostalgically at the days she and Din had spent hunting down Imps side by side. Meeting each other had changed their life for the better, and not just because of the adventure and the money. After turning Gideon in to the New Republic, they hadn't been able to ignore their feelings for much longer, and here they were, now, getting ready to cross the galaxy to get their little green bean from Master Skywalker for a long awaited family vacation.

She was busy trying to decide whether to get more liwi fruits, since Din loved them so much, when a broad shadow appeared by her side. Out of the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of green metal; when she turned around, she found a familiar scarred face smiling warmly at her.

“Marshal Dune.”

“Boba!” she greeted back, just as warmly. “What a surprise meeting you here. It's good to see you.”

He didn't look much different than she remembered. Last time she had seen him, two years ago, he was with Bo-Katan, discussing about the extensive treatments Koska needed after getting badly injured on their way to the New Republic headquarters on Coruscant. She knew Koska had fully recovered but hadn't had any further news about her; Bo-Katan only got in touch to report back to Din about her and her troops' progresses with the reorganisation of Mandalore.

“You, too.” Boba took a long look at her from head to toe. She could see in his expression that he was putting two and two together. “You look good.”

As a matter of fact, Cara _did_ look good. Her shape wasn't at its best, but she could see what people meant when they told her she was glowing: she had never been so happy before, she couldn't care less about the extra pounds she had put on in these last few months. It had been _so_ worth it.

She gave Boba a radiant grin, then asked, “What brings you to Nevarro?”

“Just passing by,” he shrugged. He looked around the bazaar, scanning through the dozens of colourful people. “Where's the Mand'alor?”

Cara snickered. She was glad Din was still at home because he still had some major issues with this title and had a panic attack whenever Bo-Katan reminded him she was only acting as a regent and _he_ was the true leader of their people.

“Don't let him hear you call him that,” she warned playfully. Din was in a happy mood because they were finally going to see Grogu again, there was no need to ruin everything with a slip. “He should be here any moment,” she conveyed. “We're getting ready to pick up the kid from school.”

Boba nodded fondly. “How's the little one?”

Something about his tone convinced Cara he was not just asking to be polite, he genuinely cared. There was a sympathy in his look she couldn't quite place.

“Great, actually. He's made so many progresses in this couple of years... we're very proud of him.” She swallowed back the lump of tenderness forming in her throat. Damn hormones. “What about you?” she inquired before she got caught crying like a fool over her son's achievements. She considered Boba's appearance for a moment and caught a spark in his eyes that hadn't been there last time she had seen him. “You seem... different.”

The comment made a corner of Boba's mouth curl. “I am.”

Before Cara had any chance to get more information after this cryptic reply, she was distracted by a very well known voice coming from behind her.

“There you are!”

She turned around to find Din zigzagging among the crowd with a large box in his hands and a bag hanging from each of his shoulders. Nothing else. _No one_ else.

Cara froze. “Din,” she said in a calm but very tense tone, meeting his eyes through his visor, “where is Seren?”

As nonchalantly as humanly possible, Din turned his left side to her to show her the large bag leaning against his armoured hip. “Right here.”

Cara blinked. “Here where?”

“ _Here.”_ Having both hands busy, Din gave a little nudge with his leg, making the bag wave gently. Cara had a horrifying thought. He couldn't be _that_ dumb. She _refused_ to believe she had married such a huge, kriffing _idiot._

She brought her hands to her hips with an incredulous frown. “Din Djarin,” she hissed through her teeth, “did you put my baby in a _bag?”_

As if on a cue, a light coo came from the bag hanging from Din's left shoulder. Cara could see the little lumps poking out of the fabric. Still infuriatingly nonchalantly, Din put the box on the ground at opened the bag to show Cara that everything was perfectly okay: Seren was lying on a thick pillow and wiggling her tiny fists up at the sky, apparently uttery unbothered by her father's idiocy.

Cara picked up the baby with an exasperated groan and pierced through Din with a deadly glare.

“How else was I supposed to carry her and everything else?” he said defensively, a hand eloquently pointing down at the heavy box.

“She's not a grocery haul!” Cara yelled, holding Seren tight to her chest. The tiny little shit had the nerve to _giggle._

Din didn't even seem to see the problem. “She was comfortable.”

“Comfortable! In a _bag?”_

“But she likes it!”

Cara ignored Boba's attempt to muffle his low laughter. It wasn't the man's fault her husband was a mess. She settled Seren into the curve of her arm and brushed her bald little head with a loving smile. She did look quite unfazed, bless her precious innocence.

“He's still learning,” she told the baby with an inevitable amused smile that she instantly directed toward Din. “I know you carried our green bean in a bag for months and he was very happy about it, but that's not how you're supposed to be carrying a baby around.” She was almost laughing now, which made Din's shoulders lose a bit of their defensive stiffness.

“I tried to use that wrap you bought but we got tangled and I gave up.”

Cara had no difficulty imagining him struggling to get himself and Seren into that thing. She should have put the wrap on him herself before leaving for work.

“ _We_ got tangled,” she echoed with a fond shake of her head. “You're so lucky you're cute. It's okay, darling,” she beamed down at her daughter, “Daddy hit his head _really_ hard a while ago, it's not his fault.”

Din let out a long sigh. Cara smirked. She would never let him forget she had saved his ass, three years back. Seren's entire face spread into a toothy smile that instantly wiped away whatever was left of Cara's anger. Cara kissed her soft nose.

“How old is she?” Boba asked.

“Three weeks and four days,” Cara said proudly. Seren was growing fast and healthy despite being a preemie, and she and Din couldn't have been happier. They couldn't wait for Grogu to meet his baby sister. “Can you hold her for a second?”

Without waiting for an answer, Cara put the baby into Boba's arms, fished the wrap out of the other bag Din was carrying and started adjusting it around her torso. To her surprise, Boba didn't refuse, didn't even try to protest; he just good-naturedly accepted Seren and handled her with a confidence Cara hadn't expected. Even Seren, who normally didn't like strangers, seemed comfortable with the new assignation.

“You're good,” Cara marvelled. It had taken Din a lot of convincing before he believed he wouldn't break his newborn daughter if Cara let him held her. “Have you done this before?”

Boba was swaying the baby slowly, enraptured by the little happy noises she was making. “No.”

“Looks like you're a natural.”

“I hope so,” someone said.

They looked behind Boba and saw Koska Reeves, wrapped up in a large cowl, approaching with a smirk and a peculiar waddle to her walk that Cara recognised at once: she had walked like that herself until a few weeks ago.

“One of us needs to know what we're doing,” Koska continued, stopping right next to Boba, with whom she exchanged a quick smile. Cara's look flickered knowingly between the two of them standing so close side by side it didn't leave much room for doubts as to the nature of their relationship.

_“Really?”_

Koska pulled her cowl apart to show what it was concealing. She arched an eyebrow at Cara. “Really.”

Cara took in the ridiculously perfect roundness of her belly, smirking, “Did you swallow your helmet?” She must be at least six or seven months along.

Boba let out a light chuckle. Koska brought a hand behind her back and one under her belly. “I wish.” She rubbed a specific spot and threw her head back with a sigh. “My helmet wouldn't have any feet to stick into my bladder all the damn time.”

Din was still dumbfounded. He was looking at Boba and Koska—mostly at Koska's rounded stomach, actually—like he had no idea what was going on. Cara mentally snorted: this idiot _must_ remember how babies were made, right? He was even pretty good at that. She poked her elbow in his ribs, jolting him out of his stupor.

“I guess—” he stammered awkwardly, “I guess congratulations are in order.”

“Likewise.” Koska sent Cara an amused glance, then turned to Boba with an open palm. “You owe me one hundred credits.”

Boba smirked and said they could settle this at home. He was a much more dignified loser than Din, Cara had to concede that. And watching him with Koska and with Seren in his arms, she could finally see what was so different about him: he had a purpos, something bigger and way better than power and money. He had a family, something he'd lost a long time ago and probably thought he'd never have again, much like Cara and Din themselves.

“Din owes me two hundred,” Cara announced. “Which I'm going to use to buy an actual baby carrier,” she added, shooting Din a teasing look. At least he couldn't get one of those wrong. Probably.

“The bag is fine,” Din tried to protest, but Cara cut him off halfway through the sentence.

“The bag is _not_ fine.”

“What's wrong with the bag?”

A pause of silence fell between the four of them and was quickly filled by the deafening noise of the bazaar. Everybody was staring at Koska, who clearly didn't know what was so wrong in what she had just said. A second later Seren started squirming; before Cara could worry, Boba bounced her gently, whispering something to her, and she calmed at once. Well, that was remarkable. Cara needed to ask if he was interested in some practice before he and Koska had their own.

“Is this a Mando thing?” she asked, glancing from Koska to Din and back. “Your folks carry babies around like potatoes?”

Koska did her best to gain a dignified stance, as far as her size allowed her. “It's practical.”

“I won't let you carry our kid in a bag, Reeves,” Boba warned, not so amused, now.

The defiant look Koska shot back at him said, _'Watch me.'_ The helpless way Boba shook his head reminded Cara of Din and his own dramatic head shakes. She couldn't decide whether to roll her eyes or laugh. She would love to sit down with Boba and find out what other absurd quirks their respective Mandos shared.

“When are you due?” she asked Koska.

“In nine weeks. We've been told it'll probably be less than that, since I'm so small.”

“We're stretching our legs here and there before I lock her up for the last four weeks,” Boba explained. “I want her as close as possible to a medcenter when the time comes.”

Cara could see the sudden nervousness creeping all over him. Childbirth was no joke and Koska _was_ very petite: a natural birth could easily have complications.

“We're taking a short break on Naboo after we get Grogu,” Din intervened. “It would be nice to have some company.”

Boba turned to Koska. “What do you say, kid?”

“Sure,” Koska mumbled sarcastically, _“more_ rest before I have to rest for who knows how long. Sounds great, let's do this.”

Despite the forced lack of enthusiasm in her voice, Cara could tell by the dimples in her cheeks that Koska liked the idea more that she was willing to admit.

“Consider this an educational experience,” Cara smirked. “You'll be glad you got to practice when you have a newborn wailing their lungs out in the middle of the night and you have no idea how to stop it.”

“I'm looking froward to it,” Koska deadpanned. Boba gave her an indulgent nudge.

“You get this little one here safe and sound. I'll take the sleepless nights.”

“Said the one who can't nurse.”

“That's what Din used to say, too,” Cara huffed. “I tripped into him to get up to feed Seren, once, and he didn't even notice.”

“It was the painkillers!” Din objected.

“Sure it was. On your man's defence,” Cara told Koska, “he does seem to have a miraculous touch. She's usually fussy in noisy places, but look at that.” She nodded toward the baby with her chin: Seren was gradually dozing off. “You're hired, pal.”

Boba smiled without taking his eyes off the baby. Koska's expression morphed into sheer adoration as she observed him. She put a hand on his arm to take a better look at Seren.

“She's gorgeous. And looks very happy.”

“Yes,” Cara grinned, “a very happy baby her daddy carries around in a bag.”

Din sighed, “It'll never happen again.”

Cara leaned forward to touch the top of his helmet with her forehead. “You _can_ carry her in a bag,” she whispered. _“Responsibly._ And _very_ carefully.”

“Okay,” Din replied, oozing love and awe. It would never stop feeling amazing.

“That's disgusting,” Cara heard Koska mumble. “I hope we never become like that.”

“You think we _could?”_

“I didn't think _they_ could.”

Cara sent her a sideways chuckle. “I give you three weeks tops after the baby is born.”

“Three hundred credits?”

“Five hundred or nothing,” Cara scoffed.

Koska put on a stubborn face. “Deal.”

Boba and Din shared a long, powerless look.

“Well,” Boba said, looking down at Seren like he was talking to her, “this is going to be fun.”

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I am SO DAMN HAPPY I got to sit down and write this, today. I've had a mild fever for a couple of days but today I didn't feel like absolute crap and actually got to write and... wow, you have no idea how much I missed this, and how much I needed it. My mental health is being tested with the nonstop work and finally getting to do something I love feels like a true bessing.
> 
> Seren is a Welsh name meaning Star. Most of my original CaraDin babies are named Star. Not sorry.
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed the shameless fluff. Go brush your teeth before they rot!
> 
> Let me know if you liked this? I'd love to see the love for this ship is still alive and kicking. <3


End file.
